Angel of Darkness (The Fallen #1) by Cynthia Eden* I received a copy of this book from Kensington in exchange for an honest review*

Nicole St. James was a nice woman. An innocent, pretty, twentysomething schoolteacher with her life ahead of her. But as the angel of death, it’s Keenan’s job to take that life away. So when a vampire attacks Nicole, Keenan is not supposed to snap and take out the vampire instead. It cost him his wings–but she’s worth it.

Except when Keenan catches up to his pretty schoolteacher, she’s not so innocent anymore. Hot red lipstick, tight black shorts and long white fangs–she’s ready to kick the asses of anyone who helped turn her into a damn bloodsucker. Unless that ass is unusually shapely and attached to a certain fallen angel. Even with all of heaven and half of hell after them, someone will have to teach Keenan about the fun kinds of sin. . .

Keenan is an angel of tasked with the job of escorting souls to another plane when they die. He has always steadfast in his task until he sees Nicole pleading with him for help. That one second of hesitation was going to come and haunt him forever.

When Nicole was attacked by the vampire, she knows her time has come. She sees someone there and begs him to help her; she never dreamed that request would cost her humanity. Now she is determined to survive and live, even though she has enemies on her tale. With the help of the sexy fallen angel, she might find a way.

I liked Keenan’s character a lot. Ms. Eden did a good job of developing his character and letting him grow. He is a total bad a$$ but at the same time he has never experienced any type of emotions or sex. He is complex but vulnerable at the same time. There is plenty of room for growth and you see that growth by the end of the book.

Unlike a lot of people, I enjoyed Nicole’s character. I loved her take charge attitude when it comes to her life and what she is going to get out of it. She is on the cusp of dying and then all of a sudden she is thrust into the “darkness” and has to find a whole new way to survive. For the most part she is able to get herself out of binds but soon realizes that she is better off with Keenan’s help, she can accomplish more.

I think that Kennan and Nicole are good together and find it ironic that the “sweet” girl that Kennan was watching is the one giving him a lesson in all things wicked. He is experiencing things in his life for the first time and she is there to guide him through it all including the pain and pleasure. She doesn’t realize that he lost his wings when he “saved” her and seems to have a hard time dealing with that fact.

The book has some great secondary characters that help move the story along. Sam is unique and you really never know where he stands until the end of the book. Azrael is determined to save Kennan, no matter the costs but he finds out that a man in love will do anything to protect his woman. I can’t wait to read each of their books and see where the stories will take us.

I love Cynthia Eden’s books and this one was no different. I enjoyed the story because it was different than other paranormal books I’ve been reading. You have to admit the idea of a sexy fallen angel looking for you is pretty hot. I give Angel of Darkness 4 Flaming Hearts.